I’m still thinking about games and faith, so this week we consider whether life itself is a game, and what that might mean. By comparing life to a game, I don’t mean that life is not difficult or easy. I’m not thinking of simple or silly games but rather how life has rules and maybe surprising ways of winning.
1 Samuel 17:38-40. Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. David strapped Saul’s sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I am not used to them.” So David removed them. Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.
1 Samuel charts the movement of the ancient from a loose confederation of tribes into a unified monarchy and small kingdom (roughly 1000 BC), until the kingdoms split and were eventually conquered by the larger superpowers of the day (the Assyrians and then the Babylonians). It was written probably in the 500s BC but sections probably date from King David’s time. In the passage today is part of the epic David and Goliath story that shows David’s meteoric rise as a military and political leader at the expense of the slightly unhinged King Saul. David is able to defeat the giant Goliath in a surprising way: not with heavy armor or battle tactics, but with a sling and some smooth stones. David would never have defeated Goliath in hand to hand combat so he smartly went with a different tactic.
Matthew 25:22-30. And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
This parable of Jesus appears only in Matthew and Luke, and is part of a large and final teaching section by Jesus. This parable stresses being ready for Christ’s return and reminds us to use our time wisely. I find it haunting to ask myself, what am I doing that yields doubled results?
Links
• Killer orcas are wrecking yachts and no one knows exactly why. Sometimes life is as strange as fiction.
• Remember airships that weren’t airplanes?
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